Modern Wall Decorations
The late 19th and early 20th centuries saw sweeping social change and major scientific advances — both of which contributed to a new aesthetic: modernism. Rejecting the rigidity of Victorian artistic conventions, modernists sought a new means of expression. References to the natural world and ornate classical embellishments gave way to the sleek simplicity of the Machine Age. Architect Philip Johnson characterized the hallmarks of modernism as “machine-like simplicity, smoothness or surface [and] avoidance of ornament.”
Early practitioners of modernist design include the De Stijl (“The Style”) group, founded in the Netherlands in 1917, and the Bauhaus School, founded two years later in Germany.
Followers of both groups produced sleek, spare designs — many of which became icons of daily life in the 20th century. The modernists rejected both natural and historical references and relied primarily on industrial materials such as metal, glass, plywood, and, later, plastics. While Bauhaus principals Marcel Breuer and Ludwig Mies van der Rohe created furniture from mass-produced, chrome-plated steel, American visionaries like Charles and Ray Eames worked in materials as novel as molded plywood and fiberglass. Today, Breuer’s Wassily chair, Mies van der Rohe’s Barcelona chair — crafted with his romantic partner, designer Lilly Reich — and the Eames lounge chair are emblems of progressive design and vintage originals are prized cornerstones of collections.
It’s difficult to overstate the influence that modernism continues to wield over designers and architects — and equally difficult to overstate how revolutionary it was when it first appeared a century ago. But because modernist furniture designs are so simple, they can blend in seamlessly with just about any type of décor. Don’t overlook them.
1930s Belgian Vintage Modern Wall Decorations
Canvas
21st Century and Contemporary American Modern Wall Decorations
Resin, Wood, Paper
1990s American Modern Wall Decorations
Metal, Iron, Wire
20th Century French Modern Wall Decorations
Wool
2010s Mexican Modern Wall Decorations
Resin
1950s French Vintage Modern Wall Decorations
Paper
Early 2000s American Modern Wall Decorations
Paper
21st Century and Contemporary Portuguese Modern Wall Decorations
Ceramic, Paint
21st Century and Contemporary American Modern Wall Decorations
Cotton
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Wall Decorations
Brass
21st Century and Contemporary Nepalese Modern Wall Decorations
Wool
2010s American Modern Wall Decorations
Paper
1940s French Vintage Modern Wall Decorations
Paper
2010s American Modern Wall Decorations
Paper
1960s Spanish Vintage Modern Wall Decorations
Canvas, Acrylic
2010s Portuguese Modern Wall Decorations
Faience, Wood
2010s American Modern Wall Decorations
Paint
1970s French Vintage Modern Wall Decorations
Paper
1970s French Vintage Modern Wall Decorations
2010s Danish Modern Wall Decorations
Canvas
21st Century and Contemporary American Modern Wall Decorations
Cotton
21st Century and Contemporary Portuguese Modern Wall Decorations
Ceramic, Paint
1970s French Vintage Modern Wall Decorations
Acrylic, Wood, Paper
Mid-20th Century Spanish Modern Wall Decorations
Wool, Cotton
20th Century French Modern Wall Decorations
Wool
2010s American Modern Wall Decorations
Brass
1940s American Vintage Modern Wall Decorations
Canvas, Paint
1980s Japanese Vintage Modern Wall Decorations
Paper
Early 2000s British Modern Wall Decorations
Glass, Acrylic, Wood, Paper
1960s Swedish Vintage Modern Wall Decorations
Canvas
2010s American Modern Wall Decorations
Canvas, Acrylic
2010s American Modern Wall Decorations
Canvas, Acrylic, Wood
2010s American Modern Wall Decorations
Paper
2010s Italian Modern Wall Decorations
Brass
2010s Polish Modern Wall Decorations
Stainless Steel
Late 18th Century French Antique Modern Wall Decorations
Canvas
2010s American Modern Wall Decorations
Canvas
2010s American Modern Wall Decorations
Paint
2010s Australian Modern Wall Decorations
Brass
2010s Dutch Modern Wall Decorations
Cotton, Linen, Wood
1960s Spanish Vintage Modern Wall Decorations
Paper
Mid-20th Century Egyptian Modern Wall Decorations
Wool
21st Century and Contemporary American Modern Wall Decorations
Paper
21st Century and Contemporary Danish Modern Wall Decorations
Wood
21st Century and Contemporary American Modern Wall Decorations
Wool, Cotton
2010s Spanish Modern Wall Decorations
Canvas, Paint
2010s American Modern Wall Decorations
Canvas, Acrylic, Wood
21st Century and Contemporary Balkan Modern Wall Decorations
Resin, Acrylic
2010s Portuguese Modern Wall Decorations
Faience, Wood
1970s German Vintage Modern Wall Decorations
Canvas
2010s American Modern Wall Decorations
Paper
Mid-20th Century British Modern Wall Decorations
Paper
1960s American Vintage Modern Wall Decorations
Acrylic, Paper
1960s Australian Vintage Modern Wall Decorations
Canvas
1970s French Vintage Modern Wall Decorations
Jute, Wood
20th Century American Modern Wall Decorations
Canvas
1980s American Vintage Modern Wall Decorations
Wool
1980s Belgian Vintage Modern Wall Decorations
Paint
Late 20th Century American Modern Wall Decorations
Paper
20th Century Italian Modern Wall Decorations
Paint
2010s American Modern Wall Decorations
Paper
1970s North American Vintage Modern Wall Decorations
Paint
1960s French Vintage Modern Wall Decorations
Wool
1960s Swedish Vintage Modern Wall Decorations
Canvas
2010s American Modern Wall Decorations
Wool, Felt
1990s Guatemalan Modern Wall Decorations
Masonite, Lacquer
21st Century and Contemporary Chinese Modern Wall Decorations
Grasscloth
1970s Argentine Vintage Modern Wall Decorations
Wool
1930s American Vintage Modern Wall Decorations
21st Century and Contemporary Danish Modern Wall Decorations
Wood
2010s American Modern Wall Decorations
Steel, Aluminum
21st Century and Contemporary American Modern Wall Decorations
Enamel, Gold Leaf
1980s American Vintage Modern Wall Decorations
Paper